Brooklyn Judge Criticizes Orthodox Jewish Community's Views On Child Abusers

In Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday, state trial court judge Guston Reichbach delivered a harsh rebuke to the borough's Orthodox Jewish community while sentencing Yona Weinberg, a 31-year old social worker and bar mitzvah tutor, for sexually molesting two boys. According to today's New York Jewish Week, the judge was distressed that in the 90 letters in support of Weinberg received prior to sentencing, no one expressed concern or sympathy for the victims. Judge Reichbach complained about "a communal attitude that seems to impose greater opprobrium on the victims than the perpetrator," and said that Jewish religious courts are inappropriate and incapable of dealing with criminal matters. The comments come just as the Orthodox Jewish community is beginning to face the problem of child sexual abuse.